Gravitake (Gra-vi-tayke)

A Gravitake (also often referred to as Swooshplate) is a crucial component of flying and hovering machines used inside the Badlands by TINK Inc.

She would never forget the day she last saw her.

Having placed herself back on the floor and holding her knee, like back then, when it had been cut open by the rough asphalt of the airstrip. An unintentional kick in the small of the back had sent the small girl tumbling, right past the outstretched arms of the guards holding back the crowd she had been a part of.

Sitting there, teary eyes, confused as to what to do and how to behave, looking for a way out while the heat of unwarranted shame crept up her cheecks.

Standing on the "Holey Rust-Bucket", the first ever completed Flytake powered by Gravitakes, Lady Lockhet had seen it all. Glowing like an angle from the golden light the rising sun projected towards the city, she had rushed towards her and with seemingly superhuman strength, had scooped her up.

This memory called forth another one: The smell of a mix of rose perfume and machine grease, and the rough texture of the worn fur-lined pilot greatcoat.

Never ever had she felt so protected and loved as in that very moment, being held by her Idol.

Lady Lockhet scolded the crowd for being so unobservant, only stopping to ask if she was ok. Softly stroking her hair with those massiv, copper-clad gloves in an attempt to dry those tears away.

Now, Lady Lockhet had almost as long gone as this had occured, and Amiral Tjurbin had stepped into her Boots, that always felt too big for her. Leaving her memories, she stood up and returned to preparing herself to lead the air show, celebrating all those that were so important in the Gravitakes Uprise as Uriturris primary mode of transporation.

Function

A Gravitake excerts a constant force away from the largest gravitation source in its vicinity. By angling the Plate away from that source, the Effect can be diminished.

As the relative position of the Plate changes as it is moved around the surface of Urlurra, directional motion can be created by rotating the Plates away from the Source. Multiple Plates may be used on a Device to increase or counteract the Forces.

Piloting a Hovertake is like balancing the egg in the middle of a bowl. Piloting a Flaytake is like doing the same just on the outside of the bowl.

— Almiral Tjurbin, Master Pilot

Usage

A Gravitake is mounted inside a moveable cradle, usually in the form of two Rings that hold the Gravitake on a Plate that can move freely within it, which is affixed to a Vehicle.

While there is no limit on how many Gravitakes a Vehicle has fitted, most use not more than two Assemblies, containing two counteracting Gravitakes.

Utility

Most Gravitakes are used to propel vehicles of a wide variety of size and displacement. Other uses are to reduce load on cargo moving equipment or in some occasions to support buildings and constructions.

Manufacturing

Magnetic Metals that have been polluted with Flotatorite (or have been formed as an Alloy) are formed into sheets or blocks that roughly follow the overall shape of the local magnetic field. Depending on place of fabrication (and location of Uriturri), this will change the maximum size and overall shape of the resulting Gravitake.

By cutting and carving away material from the source material, the Gravitake is further aligned to a specific direction, the Side which has more material facing towards it, will develop a tendency to point towards the largest gravity source (the core of Urlurra usually).

The Production of a Gravitake is a balancing-act between physical stability of the plate and the desired strength of the Inverse-Gravitation effect desired.

Content

Access & Availability

Gravitakes only work within the strong magnetic fields of the Badlands by TINK Inc where they are used for most public and private transportation.

Complexity

While early models of Gravitakes had to be handcrafted to ensure perfect gravitational balance, modern machinery and fabrication techniques have trivialized large-scale production.

This, in turn, has allowed most applications of the technology to be simplified to a point where the principle and inner workings can be explained and understood by small children.

Discovery

While frequently downplayed by the scientific community, it is of note, that the principles behind Gravitakes were an unmotivated and accidental discovery by a local metal working artisan calling himself Axcelleran.

Only after his uninformed attempts to sell a natural phenomenon to various businesses in Uriturri, a local hobby scientist understood the possibilities and forwarded what she could gather from the artisan to a local university.

Deity ka_jan

Jan Kaltenecker

     

^{"Thunder rolled. It got a 6." — Guards, Guards by Sir Terry Pratchett
Island-Inquest awaits!}